No One Knows [Rebirth] - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Exhausted Head Rests…

The atmosphere, which had been relatively warm, ended once again on a tense note.

Qin Yu, however, didn’t think much of it. After all, Tang Ruibai was right under her nose now; there would be plenty of opportunities to get along well and change Tang Ruibai’s opinion of her.

Qin Yu went to the bathroom, showered, and changed into clean loungewear.

Because Mrs. Wen was in poor health, their home was kept at a constant temperature year-round. Even though it was still autumn, it had rained and cooled down over the past two days, so the underfloor heating had been turned on low.

Qin Yu wore a pure cotton T-shirt and long pants, looking at herself in the mirror for a long time as she wiped her face.

It was truly a very young face.

Back then, she had thought she wasn’t particularly pretty, but looking at it again after her rebirth, it was simply perfect in every way. The abundance of collagen in her cheeks alone was worth more than money could buy.

After showering, Qin Yu didn’t rush to leave the room. Instead, she sat at her desk to organize her current curriculum progress.

The good news: when she transmigrated back, she was already in her second year of high school, had chosen her stream, and only had six subjects to deal with.

The bad news: the city of Lanshi had a “graduation proficiency exam” this year.

The so-called graduation proficiency exam covered every subject learned in the first year of high school. Generally, it would be taken during the first year, or at the very latest, at the start of the second. But this year, Lanshi had a new Director of the Education Bureau, and the schedule for the exam had been delayed. Now that everything was settled, the bureau had finally arranged it for October 10th.

This meant that after the National Day holiday, Qin Yu would have to sit for a massive exam covering Politics, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

Ten years ago, it would have been trivial. But for the twenty-seven-year-old Qin Yu, it was a fate worse than death.

Just kidding—having finally been reborn, Qin Yu certainly didn’t want to die.

She had marked this information on the calendar on the wall in front of her desk, along with birthdays (her parents’, her friends’, and her own) and upcoming exam dates, all to whip herself into shape.

Having been away from school for so long, Qin Yu had developed the illusion that she had gotten into Beijing Foreign Studies University because she was naturally smart, not because of hard work. The truth was, her “workaholic” tendencies were long-standing; in her previous life, she had worked herself to the bone just to master a single role. Now she realized her drive was innate.

Forget it. If you can’t die from grinding, then grind until you die.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t learned this before; reviewing was different from learning something for the first time. Qin Yu believed she could pick the knowledge back up quickly.

Once she made up her mind, she dug out several sets of review summary papers from the bookshelf and tagged Lu Xin in their group chat.

Qin Yu: “@XinXin, could you help me grab my notebooks when you leave school tonight? All subjects.”

Qin Yu: “Isn’t the proficiency exam coming up soon? Whoever still has their Politics, History, and Geography notes, please lend them to me.”

Seeing the message, Qi Miaoyan immediately asked: “What’s going on? You’re going to self-study at home?”

Ling Feng: “@Qin Yu, I have the Politics, History, and Geography notes, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to understand them.”

Qin Yu knew “Ling Feng had the heart of a humanities student, but his family had forced him into the sciences.

Qin Yu: “@Ling Feng, just give the notebooks to XinXin and let her bring them to me tonight.”

Ling Feng also asked: “Are you really not coming to school? We can’t possibly go without seeing you until the National Day holiday, right?”

Lu Xin’s reply was much more obedient: “@Qin Yu, received.”

Qin Yu didn’t offer much of an explanation: “I have some family matters these two days. I’ll be back at school next week.”

She had already checked the calendar. Including the make-up days before the holiday, there were only three days of school left followed by the break. Four days in total—by then, Tang Ruibai should be well enough to attend as well.

Qin Yu held her pen, doodling aimlessly on the paper while calculating how to convince Tang Ruibai to transfer to the Second High School. It felt like convincing President Qin would be easy, and convincing Tang Ruibai individually would also be simple, but doing both together would be a monumental task.

Mingchao Middle School was clearly not a place for learning—she had visited two days ago and found it chaotic. Furthermore, she had to keep Tang Ruibai under her own supervision, or she wouldn’t feel safe.

At noon, to welcome Tang Ruibai, the housekeeper had prepared seven dishes. Eating familiar flavors in a familiar place, Qin Yu praised Auntie Zhang until she was beaming.

Auntie Zhang couldn’t stop smiling. “If you like it, Xiao Yu, I’ll make this much for you every day.”

Qin Yu nodded, her eyes shining like stars. “Okay, okay! I love it so much!”

At the dining table, Mrs. Wen took care of not only Qin Yu but also Tang Ruibai. Yet her care was perfectly measured, never making Tang Ruibai feel uncomfortable. Tang Ruibai realized this was the truly terrifying thing about the wealthy: as long as they wanted to get along with you, they could permeate your heart without you even noticing.

After lunch, Tang Ruibai returned to her room, sat at the desk, picked up a pen, and wrote eight characters on the first page of her newly unwrapped notebook: “Born in sorrow and distress, die in ease and comfort.”

It wasn’t that she was pessimistic; rather, from childhood, misfortune had always dogged her, leaving her unable to lower her guard.

In the evening, President Qin returned home. Qin Yu had spent the entire afternoon buried in her studies, feeling like a duck being force-fed knowledge. Fortunately, she had learned this material before and had been quite good at it; after reviewing and doing a few examples, it felt like she had mastered it again.

However, she didn’t dare mention this to anyone, or her cover would be blown. This was also why she hadn’t looked for Tang Ruibai all afternoon—she only visited her neighbor when taking breaks to rest her eyes.

Tang Ruibai was engrossed in Dream of the Red Chamber. Qin Yu had bought the book in her first year of high school, thinking she’d read the Four Great Classical Novels to appear cultured, but she had only made it thirty pages before falling soundly asleep. It had been gathering dust for a long time. Tang Ruibai, however, read it effortlessly, turning pages at a steady pace.

Qin Yu went over to deliver water, fruit, and snacks, and asked if she needed some practice papers to break the monotony. Tang Ruibai gave her a look that suggested she was an idiot, to which Qin Yu smirked, “Just kidding.”

“Do I look like someone who is good at school?” Tang Ruibai asked. “I only went to school for ten days total since the semester started.”

On the other days, she was either working, unable to be seen because of Tang Mu’s beatings, or bedridden. Her teachers had grown accustomed to her attendance frequency. If it were anyone else, the school would have reported her and expelled her long ago. But Teacher Chen, having been a poor university student who moved out of Dongfu Lane, understood her situation and occasionally helped her out, making her extra lenient.

Qin Yu was choked by these words. After a pause, she said, “Then you have even more reason to study with me. Once you’re feeling a bit better, I’ll tutor you.”

Qin Yu gave her some time, but most importantly, she gave herself some time.

After saying that, Qin Yu returned to her room and buried herself in her studies even more earnestly. When she ran into things she didn’t understand, she watched online lectures on her tablet—she had even bought a membership to an educational website.

When President Qin came home and saw Qin Yu looking like a wilted eggplant, he tapped her shoulder. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you get enough rest?”

“Doing homework.” Qin Yu listlessly picked up her bowl. “Auntie Zhang, could you help me ladle some soup?”

As Auntie Zhang went to get the soup, Qin Yu sat down beside Tang Ruibai without thinking, her exhausted head resting naturally on Tang Ruibai’s shoulder.

Tang Ruibai’s body stiffened.

President Qin looked at Mrs. Wen in shock—what is going on here?

Mrs. Wen was also stunned for a moment and gave a slight shake of her head—I have no idea.

But Mrs. Wen quickly regained her composure, walked over, and lifted Qin Yu’s head to straighten it. “You’re so grown up, yet you have no sitting posture, and you have to lean on people even while eating. Little Tang’s slight frame can’t handle you pressing on her like that. Lean on me.”

“Exactly. Little Tang is still sick,” President Qin agreed immediately. “You’ve really started acting like a child.”

Qin Yu slowly snapped back to reality. She raised a hand to press her temple, her voice detached and cold: “Sorry, I’m a bit tired.”

She had said that sentence many times in her previous life, but mostly to her assistants and agents. She had grown accustomed to treating those around her with that attitude—polite, yet lacking in genuine warmth.

But those words acted like a hornet’s nest in her own home.

President Qin felt a pang in his heart. “Daughter, why don’t you just withdraw from school tomorrow?”

Qin Yu: “…?”